SHARE ON: |
| |
| |
 |
 |
|
|
A Texas nurse was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the deaths of four patients who died after prosecutors say he injected them with air following heart surgeries.
The Smith County jury deliberated for about an hour before finding William George Davis, of Hallsville, guilty of capital murder involving multiple victims. Prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty during the sentencing phase, which was scheduled to start Wednesday.
Davis, 37, was accused of injecting air into the four patients arteries after they underwent heart surgery at the Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler in 2017 and 2018. During recovery from their surgeries, the four -- John Lafferty, Ronald Clark, Christopher Greenway and Joseph Kalina -- suffered unexplained neurological problems and died.
During the trial, Dr. William Yarbrough, a Dallas-area pulmonologist and professor of internal medicine, explained to the jury how injecting air into the arterial system of the brain causes brain injury and death.
Yarbrough said he was able to determine there was air in the arterial system of the victims brains by viewing images from brain scans -- something he said he had never before observed in his decades in medicine.
He ruled out blood pressure problems or any other causes of death besides the injection of air, and said it must have happened after the surgeries because the complications occurred while the patients were in recovery.
Defense attorney Phillip Hayes told the jury that the hospital had issues and that Davis was a scapegoat who was only charged because he was there when the deaths occurred.
Prosecutor Chris Gatewood said during closing arguments that Davis liked to kill people. And prosecutor Jacob Putman said the hospital hadnt changed any of its procedures and hadnt had any similar incidents since Davis left.
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
8 am |
| 12 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNW 10 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
|
 |
9 am |
| 12 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNW 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
|
 |
10 am |
| 12 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNW 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
|
 |
11 am |
| 13 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: NNW 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 12 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
12 pm |
| 14 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: N 12 KM/H
GUSTING TO 11 KM/H |
|
|
 |
1 pm |
| 16 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
WIND: N 11 KM/H
GUSTING TO 10 KM/H |
|
|
 |
2 pm |
| 18 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: N 9 KM/H
GUSTING TO 7 KM/H |
|
|
 |
3 pm |
| 20 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
WIND: N 8 KM/H
GUSTING TO 6 KM/H |
|
 |
 |
 |
TODAY |
HIGH OF 20 ℃
LOW OF 10 ℃ |
| OVERCAST CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
FRIDAY |
HIGH OF 27 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| FEW CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
SATURDAY |
HIGH OF 33 ℃
LOW OF 17 ℃ |
| HEAVY INTENSITY RAIN |
|
|
 |
SUNDAY |
HIGH OF 19 ℃
LOW OF 11 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
 |
 |
MONDAY |
HIGH OF 23 ℃
LOW OF 9 ℃ |
| CLEAR SKY |
|
|
 |
TUESDAY |
HIGH OF 26 ℃
LOW OF 15 ℃ |
| BROKEN CLOUDS |
|
|
 |
WEDNESDAY |
HIGH OF 25 ℃
LOW OF 15 ℃ |
| LIGHT RAIN |
|
|
 |
THURSDAY |
HIGH OF 16 ℃
LOW OF 13 ℃ |
| HEAVY INTENSITY RAIN |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
CODY WEBB DADDY DID 08:48 AM |
 |
 |
DYLAN MARLOWE STICK TO MY GUNS 08:43 AM |
 |
 |
HUNTER HAYES SHADE OF YOU 08:39 AM |
 |
 |
HUNTER HAYES SONG ABOUT YOU 08:34 AM |
 |
 |
BRAD PAISLEY TRUCK STILL WORKS 08:31 AM |
 |
 |
SEAN STEMALY NEED YOURS 08:28 AM |
 |
 |
ASHLEY COOKE THE HELL YOU ARE 08:25 AM |
 |
 |
ALEXA GOLDIE CHEAT TIME 08:22 AM |
 |
 |
HARDY COUNTRY COUNTRY 08:18 AM |
 |
 |
MIRANDA LAMBERT LITTLE RED WAGON 08:12 AM |
 |

 |